


Write me Lovely

by Erikapell



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-11-30 02:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11454189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erikapell/pseuds/Erikapell
Summary: Jughead Jones is a returning inmate at Rykers State Prison in New York. Betty Cooper is a small town Bakery Owner and Art teacher in Riverdale. When a letter arrives for Jughead addressed by Betty Cooper he has no clue his entire world is about to change. Will a strong willed young women looking for a pen pal become something more than he bargained for or will he push the best thing in his life far away for fear of ruining another beautiful thing?





	1. Chapter 1

“Jones. Mail time.” 

Jughead jones looked up from his bunk, peering over his worn out edition of “Howl”. He never got mail, not anymore. People had stopped trying, friends had given up, family never cared. Nobody loves a criminal. 

Rykers island was one of the worst federal state penitentiaries in all of New York and Jughead Jones was one of their most frequent inmates. The dark haired 25 year old had been in and out of prison since they day he turned eighteen, being a part of the Notorious Southside gang “The Serpents” jail was something written in the stars, he was currently finishing up a three year stint for drug distribution. Unlike his gang mates, he wasn’t proud. He didn’t want this life, didn’t even choose it, he was born into it, molded by his father from the time he was five years old. 

That brought him back to the current situation, no one would write him letters, he’d told his sister he didn’t want her having any part of the jail system and his gang members were either alongside him in jail or merely didn’t care. His mother had left him when he was younger and his father had a gang to run. 

“You sure it’s for me John?” Jughead entered the mail room, his hands shoved in his pockets as the older guard handed him a tiny white envelope with a floral stamp in the right hand corner, the hand writing distinctly feminine. 

“Sure is Jughead, never smelt a letter so pretty, you got someone sweet on you at home?” The seventy Year old southern man grinned as Jughead blushed and shoved the letter into his grey body suit. 

“Nah. Probably spam.” He threw a lazy wave and practically sprinted back to his bunk, dropping back onto the bed and removing the letter from his pocket. 

“Smells good, don’t know what that old mans talking about.” Jughead mumbled, pausing a moment before looking around quickly and shoving the envelope under his nose. Well damn, it did smell good.

Peaches and vanilla, kind of like the smoothies they had at the gas stations back home. He scanned over the handwriting, his eyes landing in the name written in the corner.

Betty Cooper 134 Elm Street Riverdale OH  
Who the hell was Betty Cooper and why was she writing him a letter? He sighed deeply, nothing good could come from a letter, more bad news, maybe his father had kicked the bucket finally and this was one of his many women letting Jughead know. 

Jughead tore the letter open, slicing through it like a pro.

“Dear Jughead Jones, Hello! My name is Betty Cooper and I’m from Riverdale Ohio. I know that this is very strange, to be receiving a letter from an absolute stranger! I should start off by saying I recieved your name from a pen pal program my school is doing for the fall semester. I should also start off by saying I am 24 years old and not a student, I teach first grade. Now, I have to admit I was very hesitant to allow my students to do this penpal program, I mean first graders writing to felons? It’s a bit odd don’t you think? Never the less my boss insisted so here we are! I do not know anything about you, much as you do not know anything about me! I hope to change that though, I do hope you answer me. I should tell you a bit about myself. I grew up in Riverdale and went to community college where I got my teaching certification, I love my job but it is only part time. I also own a bakery in town, most of my efforts go to perfecting my cakes and cookies! Perhaps I can send you some? If you like sweets that is. Oh I really hope you do. I do not have any animals but I’m in the market to get a dog! I just bought my very first house! (Very exciting) well that’s all I can think of for this letter, please write back about yourself! I hope to hear from you very soon Jughead Jones. Stay safe and be loved - Betty Cooper” 

Jughead traced the words on the paper, his fingers looping over her swirly cursive, she was eccentric and quirky and he could almost feel the sunshine she put out into the world. He found himself wanting to know more about her, it was an odd feeling… to care for someone. He wouldn’t write back, he couldn’t write back. What would he say? Hi, this is Jughead, I rob banks and sell drugs. Dropping the letter over his face Jughead sighed. 

Pathetic. He was pathetic.

He placed the letter on his bedside table. He would keep it but he wouldn’t write back.  
Two hours later Jughead was covered in crumpled paper as he held up a page long letter and shoved it into an envelope. 

What’s the worst thing that could happen?


	2. Chapter 2

"Really Betty, I don't see why you even work that job. It's not like you don't make enough at the bakery, I've read your tax returns you almost make as much as Daddy and that's saying something." Veronica Lodge stared blatantly at her best friend as Betty shuffled a pile of schoolwork and the bakery key in her hands. 

"It's not about the money Veronica, if I didn't teach the art program at Riverdale elementary then no one would. I love those kids and they deserve an outlet to express their feelings" Betty finally opened the front door, squeezing through and inhaling the sugary scent of pastries. 

"Of course Ms. save the world." Veronica smiled fondly at her best friend, grabbing the pile of art work and placing it on the table freeing up Betty's hands to turn on the lights, sure she teased Betty but deep down she admired her friends kind heart and unwavering determination to make things better. 

With a grateful smile the green eyed blonde, opened the curtains and stood for a moment allowing the sun to warm her bones. 

"Sure is a beautiful day isn't it?" She turned around, long, soft curls flying around her shoulders. Veronica nodded 

"Definitely, Archie promised to take me to the city this weekend, I need to do some shopping." The raven haired princess wiggled her perfectly manicured eyebrows.

"You always need to do some shopping. Speaking of New York, did I tell you about this new prison pen pal program the school has me and the kids doing? My penpal is in New York." 

Veronica looked up from the croissant she had snuck off the display Betty was stacking 

"Prisoner? You're writing to a prisoner? He could be a murdere B!" 

Betty rolled her eyes   
"Well it's not like I plan on meeting him, I doubt he'll even write back, but it's kind of interesting. I'm sure he has a very interesting past."

Veronica rolled her pastry in a napkin   
"Listen Betty you're my best friend and I love you but you've been mixed up with some pretty bad guys before and I don't want a redo of what happened last year. These people are criminals." 

Betty winced at the reminder of her last boyfriend, it wasn't something she was too fond of remembering   
"Well you don't know this man. You shouldn't judge someone by their status, you should know that better than anyone." Betty narrowed her eyes and Veronica threw her hands up thoroughly scolded.  
"You're right, you're right. Just be careful that's all I ask. Now I've gotta run, houses don't design themselves." 

Veronica was a fairly popular interior decorator, she worked on homes all around the world.

"Alright Ronnie, see you tonight? Dinner at my new place? Kevin's coming." 

With a dismissive wave of her hand Veronica stood by the front door   
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Tah tah now love."   
She blew a kiss and swung out the door, leaving Betty completely alone in the bakery. 

She loved moments like this, early dawn, the sun shining through the glass windows, cupcakes in the oven and strawberries ready to be sliced for shortcake. She was happy, content. But something was still missing, something had always been missing. Running her fingers through the sticky dough she realized she had forgotten to go through her mail from yesterday. Wiping her hands on a towel, she hopped the counter and landed firmly on a stool by the window, flipping through her letters she couldn't help the huge smile that graced her face at a certain white envelope titled by "Jughead Jones" 

His handwriting was more or less a scrawl, readable but all mushed together. Still it was pretty satisfying to receive a letter back, I guess the whole penpal situation was kind of cool.

Greedily ripping into the envelope Betty began to read.

 

"Dear Betty Cooper,   
Or should I call you Ms.Cooper? You are a teacher after all. I guess I should say Thankyou for the letter, I don't get much mail here so it was a surprise. As you know my name is Jughead Jones and yes Betty, I do find it weird that the school you teach at is having young children write letters to hardened criminals, but to each their own I suppose. As for me, I'm not nearly as ruthless as you would imagine, I'm sure you're wondering if I'm a murderer? It's okay, everyone always wants to know. The answer is no. I won't go into further detail but you should know I've never killed anything, well maybe a squirrel, but I assure you that was purely accidental. You teach first grade? That's quite the year. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you teach? And to answer your question yes. I love sweets, I love all food but I have a pretty strong ass sweet tooth. You don't have to send me anything but I wouldn't hate it if you did. Don't you want prisoners review for your bakeries website? I have a dog back home, his name is hot dog. I'm sure he's with another one of my..friends. I may not know you but you can have Hotdog, he's a great dog and my ..friends don't quite care about him as much as I do. Anyway I don't have much to say about myself I was born and raised in New York, it gets pretty exhausting. I think when I get out I'm gonna get out of this state, find somewhere small, get work and get out of the business I'm in now. Well that's all for me. I normally don't talk this much but I figured hey? I've gotta get it out somehow. Maybe you can write back? Maybe not. It's fine. Anyway, Live a smart life Betty Cooper and stay good  
-Jughead Jones"

Betty gripped the piece of paper tight in her fingers, he had written back and he was attentive, funny and witty. Betty felt her stomach tighten as she reached around for a pen and paper, she wanted to write him back now, ask more questions, get more answers. Suddenly the beeping of her oven went off and the smell of burnt chocolate filled her nostrils.

"Oh sugar!"


	3. Chapter 3

Jughead stood over a short Latino boy named Joaquin, cautiously hovering as he lifted and pushed the weights above his chest. Spotting was not something Jughead did for anyone but Joaquin was his best friend in prison and if he needed something Jughead was gonna be the one to provide. 

"Alright, that's it." Joaquin slammed the barbells on the ground beside him, hunching on his knees as Jughead dropped to the workout bench next to his, the sun was sweltering outside today and both of the boys were shirtless and sweaty.

"Something's up with you, I can feel it. You sick or something mijo? You've got some weird face on."   
Joaquin took a moment to let the concern appear briefly on his face before quickly shoving it away. "No you ain't sick, you look... impatient? What's got you on edge?" 

Leaning back into the sun, Jughead let the sweat drip from his hair and onto the concrete ground.  
"Wrote a letter, just waiting on a reply is all." 

Joaquin lifted the dirty milk carton filled with tap water and took a heavy gulp before handing it to Jughead.  
"You write your dad? Or maybe that crazy red headed chick who used to always try to visit?" 

Jughead nearly spit his water out at both of those suggestions.  
"Haven't written my dad once since I've been locked up, he could be dead or in prison himself for all I know. And as for Cheryl Blossom? No way man, that chick is nuts. I didn't like her in High school and I sure don't like her now. You know how those kind of girls are, all about the bad boy." 

"So who is it?" 

"It's just some penpal program some teacher wrote me, I just wanna know if she'll write me back." He lied, secretly he couldn't wait to see if she wrote him back, he wanted to know what was in the letter, he wanted to learn more about Betty Cooper.

"Well let's go check, mail should be here by now. Maybe she sent a picture, I may not like women but I know a pretty one when I see one." Joaquin headed for the doors, leaving Jughead to scramble after him. 

He hadn't thought about what she looked like. Maybe she was blonde, tall would be nice, she was a teacher, he could imagine sundresses and buns. 

Oh great now he was thinking, thanks a lot Joaquin. 

They arrived at the mail room in record time, Joaquin was fast, light on his feet and stealthy, he was a great asset to the Serpents but just like Jughead he wanted out. 

Joaquin was the first to speak   
"We're looking for a letter, Jughead Jones." 

Jughead rolled his eyes at his friends forwardness.

The woman at the desk shook her head,   
"No letters addressed to that inmate, sorry."

Jughead felt the dissapointment weigh heavy in his chest as he turned to walk away, Joaquin's hand on his shoulder. 

" oh wait!" The woman called " you do have a letter, it's part of the package." She held out a medium sized cardboard box with a baby blue envelope taped on top. "Smells great, the guards have been eyeing that one all day." 

With wide eyes Jughead allowed himself to be tugged down the prison halls, gripping the box protectively. 

Joaquin was practically shaking with excitement as he gestured at the box. 

"Open it! Come on Jughead! I wanna see what's inside!" 

For a moment Jughead saw the child Joaquin once had been, the innocent youth that had been taken from him at the hands of the Southside Serpents, replaced by a hardened, jaded individual. with a sad smile Jughead slid the box over to Joaquin and nodded, encouraging him to open it. The darker boy didn't have to be told twice, he savagely ripped off the tape and the room was instantly filled with the smell of cookies and pastries. 

"Shut the fuck up." Joaquin whispered, nearly drooling at the eclairs wrapped up in Tupperware. 

Jughead could help the grin that spread across his face   
"Take what you want just leave me one of everything, and get out of here. I wanna read my letter." Joaquin shoved his pockets and thanked Jughead as he scrambled out of the room. 

Carefully tearing open the letter Jughead began to read, already having imprinted the swirly cursive in his brain 

"Dear Jughead Jones.  
You most definitely don't have to call me Ms.Cooper! Only my students call me that and I find that strangely odd as well. Speaking of my students, you had asked what it is that I teach, well to answer your question I run the art program here at riverdale elementary. And before you ask, no I have no formal training, to be honest I couldn't draw a stick figure if you asked! But they wanted to shut the program down so I volunteered! These kids have such talent it drives me crazy. I hope you got my package, I know how temperamental mail can be! If you did get it I hope you like my sweets! I expect a full prisoners report when you're done ;) my apple crisp cookies are a huge seller here at the bakery! Now I have something to ask you, it may sound foolish but it's important to me. You mentioned that you had a dog at home, I know you were kidding but I would love to send down for him to be brought to me. I'm willing to pay your friends for hot dog! I don't want him to be unloved while you're away! If you'll let me I could have him here by the end of the week? Think about it! I promise I'll be a fabulous dog mom! On another note, I'm very happy you aren't a murderer! How much is left of your sentence? You mentioned finding a small town, well my friend Riverdale is the smallest! We have the starlight festival in two months. It's beautiful. I am very interested to hear more about your dreams and aspirations (that's not just my teacher voice talking. I am very curious!) believe it or not I am living my dream, my bakery does very well and my friends are healthy, of course something is always missing but that has always been their, like white noise. Well Jughead Jones I can't wait to hear from you again!   
Stay safe and be loved -Betty Cooper.

Jughead squeezed his eyes shut, hugging the letter to his chest. She wanted hot dog. Hot dog was his best friend, the dog was the very definition of a lover and the dark haired owner hated to think of how lonely he was at home. She would really do that for him? And was she asking him out? Did she want to take him to some starlight festival.. no, she just mentioned it, a random thought. He had things to tell her, things he had never told anyone else, but first....

Jughead dug in the box pulling out an apple crisp cookie and taking a bite. 

Jugheads eyes nearly popped out of his head as he moaned involuntarily. 

Holy shit that's good.


	4. Chapter 4

Betty floured the surface of the counter, her fingers sprinkling the white powder with practiced ease. Wiping her palms on the frilly white apron around her waist, Betty reached into the smallest fridge in the kitchen pulling out the Saran wrapped, chilled dough.

She could hear herself humming some familiar jazz tune but it was all white noise, something to keep her mind from wandering as she kneaded the dough, smoothing and rolling her wrists, this was her favorite part, pies were her thing ever since she could remember. Peach, Blueberry, apple, you name it she could make a pie out of it, and your damn straight it was the best pie this side of the county. Everyone loved her pies.

Jughead would surely love her pies.

Betty stopped abruptly, her fingers deep in the pie dough, why on earth had that crossed her mind? Why was she thinking of her penpal so late at night? She hadn't heard back from him in a week, perhaps she had pushed her luck by asking for his dog, she hadn't meant any offense, shebreally had been looking to adopt one and poor little hot dog seemed like he needed a home. With a heavy shake of her head Betty cleared those thoughts out of her mind. He would write her back, she was certain of it. 

Today had been an odd day, not bad, just strange. It had been surprisingly busy for a Tuesday and nearly everyone seemed to be coming in for her world famous sugar cookies, she'd been putting batches in the oven all day, then on her lunch hour Veronica seemed to be obsessed with telling Betty how amazing Paris would be and how her father had tickets for two whenever they were ready, she told betty all about how unhappy she was with Archie and how she desperately needed to get away after dodging the invitation and telling her best friend "maybe Ronnie! Definitely maybe" she headed back to the bakery where her ex boyfriend Chuck Clayton was seated on the steps, he simply wanted to talk something Betty was not willing to do after the way he had treated her. She'd gone inside the bakery, locked the doors and shut down for the day. It had definitely been strange. 

A sudden sharp knock on the front door nearly sent Betty flying backwards, breaking her out of her thoughts. With a quick glance at the clock Betty's entire body tensed, it was 12:30 at night, no one from Riverdale was ever up at 12:30 at night. Gripping the rolling pin on her hands Betty was quick to rip open the front door and start ready to fight.

A handsome young man in a leather jacket was standing in front of her, covering some large object.

"Woah Betty Crocker! I'm not here to hurt you! I've got a gift."

Betty's eyes instantly narrowed  
"I don't know who you are, therefore I will not be accepting any gifts you have to offer. Goodnight." The shaken blonde went to close the door but a foot quickly shot out blocking her.

"I'm not here to hurt you, listen, my names Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones is my best friend. I'm just here to drop off this little dude." Reggie stepped aside revealing what he had been hiding.

A shivering white sheepdog was standing behind the tall dark haired Asian, its fur covered in dirt and looking far too thin for Betty's liking.

"Hot dog." She whispered, her eyes turning accusingly to Reggies as she took in the state of the pup. 

He instantly put his hands up   
"Don't look at me! I've been...away. Just got out of lockup this week, I was all the way in California. Jug knew I got out so he called me up and asked me to deliver the dog. One hell of a road trip but I'd do anything for that dude." 

Betty's eyes softened and her shoulders slumped, a wide smile finally gracing her face as she bent down and pulled the dog closer to her.

"Hi there hotdog. Welcome home." She nuzzled the soft fur.

She looked up when she heard Reggie chuckle  
"Man you really are beautiful, I can't wait to tell Jughead. He said he didn't care what you looked like but I'm sure he's gonna be relieved. Oh here, got a letter for you too." He handed her the dirty white envelope.

Betty beamed at him before her normal hospitality kicked in. 

"Cookies. I'm gonna get you cookies!" She mumbled to herself as Reggie stood awkwardly in the door way. She came back with two huge tupperwares filled with freshly baked cookies and she shoved them in the muscular boys arms.

He smirked at the blonde   
"I sure like it here one riverdale, you can count on me coming back to visit." 

Betty rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her lips   
"I await the day." 

He waved at her as he headed back to the sleek sports car he was driving. Odd Betty thought as she ushered hot dog inside instantly grabbing a mixing bowl and filling it with water, she had no dog food or anything dog related..

"Dogs eat chicken!" She mumbled turning the stove on and running upstairs to her own home above the bakery, digging in her fridge and pulling out the chicken, once she was downstairs she placed it in a pan to cook and sat at one of the tables by the window, Hot dog directly under her feet as she kicked off her shoes and buried her toes in his fur. Opening the letter she dig into her favorite boys words.

Dear Betty Cooper,  
Suprise. Not quite what you were expecting I know, and I'm sorry in advance for Reggie, he can be an ass but he's still my best friend. You offered Hot dog a home, you don't seem like the kind of person who says something they don't mean so I kind of took you up on your offer. I only have one more month left of this place, if you hate The dog I'll take him off of your hands, if you like him.. well we'll figure it out. Thanks for being there for him. I know he's probably not on the best shape, those guys don't care about anything unless it comes from a tree. As for me? I can't wait to get out of here, I feel about as caged as Hotdog. You're town sounds real nice. Was that an invitation Betty Cooper? You wiling to show me around. If you are I might have to take you up on that offer, not much left for me here on New York, I'm ready to settle down. Now let's get to the important matters, Your baking. I've gotta ask.. are you even human? You've gotta be some kind of angel the way those damn cookies tasted. Now I'm not gonna beg but.... please send some more, please please please. The closest thing we get to cookies are prepackaged Oreos and now that I've tasted your snickerdoodles I can never eat an Oreo again. How are the kids you teach? I should've known you'd be an art teacher, a girl of many talents for sure. Summers coming up, it'll be nice to have a break huh? I get out of here June 16th. I'm not coming back this time Betty. I won't be back here ever again. Well I better go, thank you for saving my dog and thanks for writing me, talk to you soon.   
Be safe and stay good Betty Cooper  
-Jughead Jones

Betty sighed gently, holding the letter between her fingers. He would be out soon, he wanted to come here, to her. Someone wanted to see her, be around her and only her. 

"I'm ready to settle down." Betty traced that line over and over with her finger. 

"Me too Jughead Jones, me too." Betty whispered into the empty bakery, smiling as hotdog snored under her feet.


	5. Chapter 5

Toothbrush. Leather jacket. $42.63 and a pocket knife. 

Jughead held the plastic shopping bag filled with his life's belongings loosely in fingers, shrugging the heavy leather jacket over his too tight black t shirt he wiggles uncomfortably. He'd gained a fair amount of muscle this time around and the clothes he had worn when he entered Prison were snug against his body. 

The warden held out a pen and a clipboard, his release papers. He was out. This sentence had been especially brutal and Jughead felt the familiar sense of relief wash over his body, accompanying it however was a new emotion, nervous. What now? He didn't want to go back, that lifestyle was done for him, he couldn't sell drugs and follow gangs anymore, but what else could he do? Where else could he go? The Serpents were steady, they never moved, he always had a place to go, a job to do. 

"You're free to go Jones. Don't wanna see you back in here." The burly man with the stern expression stared at him. 

A boyish grin crossed Jugheads face.  
"No promises Craig." 

With a wave of his hand the warden walked away, a hint of a smile on his face. 

The dark haired Serpent took a heavy breath, steadying himself on his feet, he headed towards the door. Towards the outside world. 

"Yo! Jughead! Hold up!" Joaquin's voice echoed through the prison walls. 

Jughead turned quickly, nearly slamming into the long haired Latino.   
"Where's the fire? You gonna miss me that much?" He smirked cockily.

Joaquin shook his head and rolled his eyes, nearly panting he had run so fast  
"Just thought you might need this, just showed up today. Figured you could use a little inspiration." Jugheads friend had the most knowing eyes, he was wise beyond his years, with one final slap on the shoulder Joaquin began walking away 

"See you in three months amigo!" He grinned, dissapearing behind the office doors. 

Jughead flipped the envelope Joaquin had given him over in his hands, his chest tightening at the familiar scrawl. Quickly shoving the paper onto his jean pockets he moved outside and inhaled deeply. Fresh air was hard to come by in New York but he would take what he could get. 

Finally he saw it. His bike. Shiny chrome and handlebars parked front and center in the parking lot practically calling his name. Reggie had come through again. Jughead nearly tripped over his feet, mounting his bike and instantly relaxing into his seat. Well alright, things weren't so bad. 

Jughead looked around the empty parking lot and dug the rumpled letter out of his pockets, it had been two weeks since he had heard from Betty, he knew things were going well with Hot dog and that the bakery was doing a little too well for her liking but he needed more. He wanted to hear how every aspect of her day was not just a pages worth, and two weeks was far too long for his greedy heart. 

Dear Jughead,  
I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to send you this letter! I've been swamped! I love my bakery and I love my job but.. I need a break! We've gotten so many out of town hipsters who think it's "so in right now." To take pictures of baked goods and post them on their Instachats and snapgrams, it's ridiculous. Don't get me wrong I love the business but sometimes I wish I could just shit my doors and only serve my town! Anyway, enough of my complaining, by the time you get this you could be free, I can't wait until you get to breathe the fresh air and have pizza! By the way you definitely should have named Hot Dog pizza because this little pup is obsessed with pizza! Don't worry I don't feed him too much just a crust or two (or three) I think he's very happy here! I've sent a picture, im thinking of making it my Christmas card! Your friend Reggie came back last week, I found him sitting on the steps of the bakery at six in the morning apparently he had a vraving for a croissant, he met Veronica. That boy blushed redder than a sun dried tomato and I think Ronnie almost fainted. I wish you could have seen it. I find myself wishing you could see a lot of things, I know it's silly because we've never met but I feel like I can tell you anything, I hope you don't think I'm some naive, foolish girl who puts too much into people. Perhaps I am though, none the less I can't wait to meet you Jughead Jones. When you do get out please send me a new address! I promise I won't be as annoying as I already am!   
Hope to hear from you soon!  
stay safe and be loved  
-Betty Cooper 

Jughead squeezed the letter in his hand, digging in the envelope and pulling out a shiny printed picture. In the middle of a bakery stood the most beautiful blonde woman jughead had ever seen. Silky golden hair falling past her shoulders, tan skin going perfectly with emerald green eyes and heart shaped lips. She had her thin arms wrapped around Hot dog, the white sheep dog grinning goofily at the camera his tongue flopping out of his mouth. Betty wore a yellow sundress and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, her long toned legs bent as she rested her chin on the pups head. 

He was going home, and home was Betty Cooper.


	6. Chapter 6

Betty woke with the sun, her toes buried in soft white fur as Hotdog slept peacefully at the foot of her bed, it was an early summer morning and the breeze coming through the window had her long white curtains fluttering gently. 

"Morning boy." Voice coming out slightly raspy, She stretched her arms, cotton, buttercup yellow sheets pooling at her waist as she sat up in bed, scratching the sheepdog behind the ears. Today was Monday and the bakery was closed, school was out for summer and Veronica was in New York with her mother, for the first time in what felt like forever Betty Cooper had absolutely no plans. 

"We could stay in bed forever Hotdog, leave the world waiting for just a little bit." The lazy puppy dropped its head, big brown eyes staring up at the gorgeous blonde, a quizzical expression on his face. Betty giggled, her own meadow green eyes landing on the stack of letters on her bedside table. 

Jugheads letters. 

She had the stack of white envelopes carefully tied with a satin blue ribbon, purposely placed right by her bed for the nights when she just couldn't sleep, she would read through his letters, picture him writing them, imagine what he looked like. Did he have freckles on his cheeks? Was his hair long or short? Did he smell like cigarettes and aftershave? The questions she had were endless.

"If only you could talk bud." Betty dropped a kiss to hotdogs head, flopping beside him on the bed, just as her eyes were about to shut the familiar ringing of her cellphone had her groaning and pulling the phone from the charger. 

"Hello" she mumbled 

"I hope you're not sleeping Elizabeth. A woman your age should be out, co mingling not resting in bed at 8 am like some hooligan." 

Betty pulled the phone from her ear, cursing silently at the person on the other end. 

"No mother, the bakery is closed today. I was actually thinking of staying in." 

"Oh please Elizabeth, your little bakery is like your hide away. I heard Chuck Clayton came to visit, now that's a lovely boy, why you have him up is still a question."

"A question I fear you'll never have the answer to mother." Betty grit out, her fingernails resting on her palms. 

"Well no need to get defensive, I'm simply saying everyone makes mistakes, perhaps if you talked to him you..." 

"I have to go." Betty cut her off "I forgot I have a delivery I have to make." 

She could practically hear her mother roll her eyes from over the phone  
"I'm simply calling to remind you of your fathers birthday party this Friday. Everyone will be there, you can bring a date, like I said Chuck..."

"I'll be there, Goodbye mother."   
Betty hung up the phone abruptly, throwing the cellphone down and peeling her fingernails from her palms, winding at the tiny drops of blood on her comforter. 

Betty leapt from the bed, making it quickly and hopping down the stairs. Bake. She could do that. She was good at that. No one ever complained about her baking, no one ever expected more than she could give when it came to baking. 

She made her way down the stairs and into the bakery, tiny cotton blue shorts hardly covering her long tan legs, a tight white tank top that showed off a bit of her flat tummy, her hair was in a loose ponytail, honey blonde strands falling into her face as she mixed cupcake batter. She was barefoot as she raced around the kitchen. Hotdog was sat in the corner, a chew toy at his paws as he watched Betty move with effortless grace around the bakery. She was just about to start pouring the batter into the cupcake holders when the bell above the front door went off, she saw thick heavy biker boots in her line of vision, probably another thrift shopping hipster, she didn't even bother looking up.

"Sorry love but we're closed for the day." 

"Well shit, I've come an awful long way." 

Betty's eyes snapped up, something in her stomach was tight and she knew immediately who had spoken those words.

"Jughead..? Jughead jones?" 

The dark haired man in leather smirked   
"That's what they call me." 

She stared openly, he was gorgeous, Even more attractive than she had imagined with thick dark waves that fell perfectly on his face, rainstorm blue eyes and a scattering of beauty marks, his lips were similar to hers in shape, heart shaped and full. He wore tight denim jeans and a heavy black leather jacket, his muscles were obvious through the plain black tshirt he had on and Betty had to stop herself from drooling, before she knew what she was doing she had lunged at him, muscular arms encasing her as she held him close.

"Well hello to you too." He mumbled into her hair, long fingers threading through her hair and dusting over her neck, he used his free arm to squeeze her even tighter into his body, Betty could feel his heart pounding. She pulled away, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck as his found their way around her waist. 

"You didn't write to me, you didn't tell me you were coming! I would've been prepared!" She glanced down accusingly at her pajamas and messy curls.

"I just got out yesterday, came here as soon as I got out. And you look good..you look.. great." He finished lamely, flinching at his poor choice of words.

Betty giggled   
"You look "great" too. I can't believe you're really here. I was beginning to think you were nothing but words on paper." She backed away, letting him glance around the empty bakery. 

He seemed in awe of the different pastries and cakes on display.   
"Nope. Im a real boy." He smiled goofily, in an instant he was on the floor, hot dog had him trapped as he attacked his face with kisses and whined.

"hot dog! I missed you pal! Look at you, you're so fat! What has she been feeding you!" 

Betty watched the scene as she leant against the counter 

"Oh please, he is in fine physical shape, I can't help it that he has the appetite of a small horse." 

Jughead rubbed the dogs belly   
"He gets that from his daddy." 

The beautiful blonde rolled her eyes   
"Well you better sit down, I'll make you something for breakfast. You must've been driving all day."

Jughead took a seat at the counter   
"Technically I was riding all day, but I'll never pass up an offer for a homecooked meal, I've been eating spray cheese and fake eggs for breakfast this last year." 

Betty looked out the window, eyes widening when she saw the beautiful Harley parked out front   
"Okay Cool rider , there's no prison meals here and i promise you the eggs are real." 

Betty had cooked a breakfast fit for a king, they ate in between constant chatter,   
, stories of prison life and Funny hotdog anecdotes had both the young adults nearly in stitches, when breakfast was winding down Betty crossed her hands on the table, fingers fidgeting nervously, a tick Jughead quickly caught on too.

"So where are you going to be staying Jughead?" 

The dark haired biker glanced around   
"Don't know, all I know is I'm not going back to the Serpents. I want to find a nice place without all of that gang drama." He shrugged 

Betty nodded understandingly   
"Well... riverdale has no gang violence that I can think of and you're always welcome here." She offered, her green eyes shining. 

Jughead looked at Betty hesistantly   
"I could never take advantage of you like that." 

 

The girl before him shook her head rapidly  
"You're not! I have a spare bedroom upstairs for when Veronica and Archie get into an argument and she has to spend the night, you don't have to stay forever only Until you get on your feet, plus you'd really be helping me actually, the kids in the upper levels are always trying to prank me in the summer and it gets a bit scary on my own!" 

Jughead looked at the angel sitting in front of him.   
How could he ever say no to her 

"Okay." 

Betty beamed, clapping her hands together  
"Okay then, that's settled! I have to get the guest room ready! Oh you can stay right here if you want? Or you can come upstairs, whichever is better for you! I'll be down super quick." 

Jughead watched as Betty scrambled up the stairs, his eyes fell to the bowl of berries and pie crust on the counter. 

Pie sounded really good right now, he grinned to himself as he looked around at his new home.


	7. Chapter 7

Jughead woke up to sunshine and cinnamon. His eyes fluttered open slowly as he stretched his overly long limbs, his feet tangling in the fabric softener scented sheets. It was such a vast difference from the dirty mattress pad and barred walls he was used too, even at home he had never had a real matress, he slept on a pull out couch covered by an old fleece blanket. He could stay like this forever, tucked into this bed replaying memories of last night over and over.

Betty had cooked dinner, the most delicious meal he had had in years, who knew something as simple as pasta could be that mouthwateringly delicious. Then they had fallen together on her couch, an old nineties movie playing on her television, they didn't talk much, it was comfortable. He knew it was strange, hell it was past the point of strange it was downright bizarre. This beautiful woman, her heart completely golden, and a hardened criminal sleeping in her home, eating her food, staring into her eyes, memorizing her smile. It wasn't normal, everything she was doing for him, what could he offer her? Trouble. That was all. The part in his brain that told him to run was loud but there was a new voice now, soft and warm as it whispered   
"Stay"

A knock on the bedroom door shook him out of his thoughts, the same voice coming from outside of the room. 

"I don't mean to wake you, I heard shifting. if you're awake you can open the door, if not I'll just pretend I'm talking to hotdog."

Jughead couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he made his way to the door, opening it slowly to find Betty standing in front of him, ruffled white apron around her waist and her hair pulled into a messy bun. 

"Good morning" she whispered, dimples peeking through her Cheeks. 

Jughead leaned against the door frame, a sleepy smile on his face. 

"Good morning" he whispered back. 

Betty's eyes quickly scanned the boy in front of her, taking in his black tshirt and tight fitting sweat pants that had once belonged to Kevin. By the flush of her cheeks Jughead knew she approved of his newfound muscles and well rested being. 

"I have to head downstairs, it's gonna be a busy day. I made cinnamon rolls, they're in the kitchen. I use cocoa powder so not even a little bit for Hotdog."

As if the white sheepdog knew he was being talked about he let out a whine that had both Betty and Jughead laughing. 

"Sorry buddy, bosses orders." Jughead brought his eyes back to Bettys. "You don't have to do all of this, I can find a place, I know I can be a bit much." 

Before he even had a chance to finish his sentence , Betty's arms were wrapped around his waist."I like having you here. I want you to stay." 

Jughead felt his heart speed up, those words had been the focal point of his dreams last night, but that is what all of this was wasn't it? A dream, the most amazing dream he'd ever had. One day he would wake up and it would all be over but for now? He was plenty happy to stay sleeping. Resting his chin on his angels forehead he inhaled the vanilla and honey, his hands squeezing her back. 

"Okay." 

They stayed like that for a moment before Betty hesitantly pulled away 

"Okay. So showers down the hall, I'll see you later." She stepped back and dropped a kiss to Hotdogs head before heading down the stairs and leaving Jughead alone. 

Hot shower. Jesus Christ it was heaven, the perfectly organized array of scented soaps and shampoos were like something out of a store and once again Jughead found himself thinking of Betty's vanilla scented hair, bringing the bottle up to his nose he surprised himself when the deep moan slipped from his lips. Truthfully it wasn't his fault, yes Betty Cooper was definitely the best person the Former gang member had ever met but she was also the most beautiful and the way her hips moved and the slender curve of her neck did things to him, made him feel ways he hadn't ever felt. Her lips were something he could picture perfectly when he closed his eyes, so pink and perfect, not to mention the way she bent down to pet hotdog or grab something from the oven, he couldn't not look. 

Sure there had been women, but he hadn't felt anything for them, they were beautiful and they satisfied that itch but... they were no Betty Cooper. No one could come close. 

Running a towel through his hair he sighed at the way his raven locks were growing far too long, he needed a haircut and maybe a shave. 

He made his way down the stairs towards the bakery, grabbing a cinnamon roll on his way down. God that woman could bake. He chose to forgo his leather jacket this time, settling for his plain black jeans and a tattered white tshirt. He had to go shopping too. What a mess. 

As soon as he reached the bakery he knew what Betty had been talking about when she spoke of how busy it had been lately, almost every table was taken and the line was nearly out the door. 

Jughead spotted Betty behind the counter, frosting cupcakes faster than he thought humanly possible, her crew of workers were running frantically around the bakery.

Jughead walked cautiously towards the beautiful blonde baker, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he leaned against the counter 

"Come here often?" 

Betty's eyes snapped up, instantly crinkling along with her smile when she saw the freshly showered boy in front of her.

"Well yes I do. I own this place so yeah..."

"Ah yes. I love a woman in power." 

Betty barked out the loudest laugh, drawing the attention of multiple tables and bringing the largest smile to Jugheads face. 

Smacking her hand over her mouth Betty giggled   
"What are you doing?" She questioned

Jughead pulled a napkin from the dispenser and pulled a pen from his pocket.   
"I'm flirting with you." He stated so matter of factly, Betty dropped the piping bag she was holding.

"And why on earth are you doing that?" 

Jughead shrugged his shoulders still writing on the napkin  
"I'm trying to woo you, is it working?" 

Betty slid a perfectly frosted vanilla cupcake across the counter  
" I don't know, ask me at the end of the day." She licked the spare frosting off of her finger making direct eye contact with Jughead, two could play at this game. 

Swallowing thickly the dark haired boy slid the napkin across the table, Betty grabbed it with a raised brow. 

"I think I'm gonna go explore your town, I should be back before you close up for the day." He started walking backwards, a goofy grin still on his face as Betty clutched the napkin. He could feel the eyes of all the bakery patrons on him, he didn't look like he belonged in this town, surely his motorcycle parked proudly out front wasn't helping his case. 

Betty called after him   
"Rumor has it Reggie is in town, I happen to know he hangs out around a certain bestfriends boutique, you might wanna say hello to an old friend" she waved delicately and headed into the kitchen. 

Jughead smiled at a little girl, the toddlers eyes lit up and she tugged on her mom's jacket, Jughead vaguely heard her whisper 

"Like Danny Zuko." 

Jugheads hands flew to his hair, it was definitely time for a haircut.

As soon as his butt hit the seat of his motorcycle he sighed, sooner rather than later he supposed, pulling out his old fashioned cell phone from his side satchel, with held breath he glanced down 

31 missed calls all from serpents

4 missed calls from his father 

1 new text message 

"You didn't think you could really leave gang life that easily did you? Can't wait to find you. You know what you owe us."

Jughead slammed his phone shut and revved his engine.

Yeah, seeing Reggie was definitely a good idea.


	8. Chapter 8

something was wrong. 

Something was most definitely wrong with Jughead Jones, the question was, what had happened in the five hours he had been away from the bakery? Away from her? Betty Cooper knew how the gossip spreading residents of Riverdale loved to talk, maybe there was a chance he had heard something about her, maybe they had told the mysterious new stranger all about her rocky relationship with Chuck Clayton, or maybe they told him all about Betty's overbearing mother and the year she had almost sent Betty away. Maybe he thought she was just as crazy as they claimed her to be in highschool. 

She could of course ask him, that would be the simple solution to her curious nerves and wandering mind. But no, she couldn't do that, he didn't seem to want to talk, not by the way he slammed through the front door, scowl burying his features as he ran up the stairs without a single word in her direction. 

The sun was setting beautifully in front of the Bakery, the open windows allowed the entire room to be lit in shades of soft purple and orange, Betty had closed about an hour ago so she was on her own, currently rolling out pie crust, her fingers deep in the dough and her mind deep in thought as she stared out the spotless glass. 

"Don't get to see much of that in prison."

Betty jumped at the deep voice coming from her right, sure enough the boy who had been running through her head was leaning casually against the stairwell, his hair damp and the bulges of his muscles on display as he crossed his arms and kept his gaze directed at the outside. 

The blonde baker let her gaze linger over his body for a moment before turning back to her kneading.

"I would assume not." She whispered wistfully, eyes avoiding his.

"Must be nice to have the place all to yourself, I had a trailer back home I shared with a friend, never really got to be on my own." He was trying to make conversation, Betty could feel him by her side, his fingers tracing shapes into the flour but she refused to look up, she wasn't angry she was just...hesitant.

"It gets lonely." She confessed "I have friends but.. I'm pretty much on my own. My mom wanted me to be a doctor, I wanted to bake. My family doesn't come around too often, although they do call more than I'd prefer, usually to hassle me." Betty bent down picking up a stamp and pressing it into the dough. 

"I get that. My dad wanted me to take over, he thought I'd make a great Serpent leader. This, right here? It's the first time I've ever put myself first, gotta say it feels good." He was peering over Betty, trying to get a look at what she was doing. 

Betty stepped back slightly, eyes finding his for the first time   
"I'm making a pie. I got an order for a few strawberry ones. It's Dilton Doileys mothers birthday. This is her favorite pie. They have to be perfect."she explained

Jughead nodded   
"How can I help?" 

Quirking a perfectly plucked eyebrow, betty walked over to the fridge and plopped a mound of dough in front of him   
"Knead this." 

With a mock salute Jughead beamed his boyish smirk at Betty and cracked his knuckles. It was silent for a few minutes before the boy beside her cleared his throat 

"I'm sorry." He started, Betty looked over "I was an ass, the way I slammed in here. I'm just... my life back home, it's not anything like yours. I don't want to put you in danger. I went and talked to Reggie and he said the Serpents are looking for me, I owe some money and... I got mixed up in some stuff, I thought I could leave it all behind but I can't. I just... I hardly know you and you're already the most important thing in my life, I want to keep you safe and me staying here, well it's definitely not helping my case. I think.. maybe I should just go home." His eyes were downcast as he focused on his hands, his voice impossibly sad and mournful. 

Betty stared at the broken boy beside her, analyzing every piece of him, from the dark black almost blue waves that covered his gorgeous warm eyes to the light pink puckered scar right by his temple down to his ear. He was beautiful and good and he made her feel things she didn't even think were possible, maybe it was the sunset slowly fading or maybe it was the smell of strawberries and honey that made her do it but in an instant her tiny hand was covering his,her fingers wrapping around the digits.

"You are home." The green eyed blonde whispered, her mouth moving to his, lips pressing together, silk on silk. 

Time seemed to stop for a moment, Jugheads hands hung limp at his side and his mouth was unresponsive, for a moment Betty thought she had made a horrible mistake, she had ruined everything. But then it flipped, quite literally, before she could register what was happening, her back was pressed against the counter, the tiny basket of strawberries spilling all over the table. Jugheads strong hands gripped her waist, lifting her onto the flour covered table as he swiped his tongue over her lips sinfully, betty nipped at his lip searching for entrance. More she needed more, pulling him closer, Betty wrapped her legs around his jean clad bottom, his erection pressing into her, she wiggled against him feeling the low rumble of his groan against her neck as he buried his face in the space between her shoulder. 

"Jughead" she whimpered, her fingers tugging at the plain white tshirt he wore, his eyes snapped up to hers, pupils blown wide as he narrowed in on her swollen lips  
"I've wanted you for so long, you saved me." The dark haired boy rasped, fingers fumbling with the buttons of her blouse, he was nearly shaking when his eyes fell on the lace white bra covering her perfect breasts, ducking his head he traced the silhouette with his tongue, her sharp inhale only spurring him on. "Your letters, they saved me. I've needed you from the moment you signed your name. You were sent down to me, you're an angel." He whispered against her lips, he shoved her down gently against the counter, her body flat against the worn in wood. 

Through hooded lashes, the beautiful blonde lifted her hands to thread through the mess of black waves, his belt clanking against the table as he bent over her. "I'm yours Jughead Jones." 

She could feel him shiver, his eyes shutting and his hands fisting in her hair   
"Mine" he growled. 

When his cloudy blue eyes met her grassy green eyes, Betty lifted her arms up and Jughead lifted her bridal style 

"Yours." She whispered against his ear as he led them both up the stairs and into her bed.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been three days since that night on the counter of the bakery and Betty could still feel flour in her hair, feel his fingers on her waist, smell the deep smoky scent that was purely Jughead Jones. They hadn't made love that night, neither were ready for that, not when they still had so much time to explore each other, to give their bodies time to know each other. 

He had carried her up the stairs, cradling her as if she were the most precious thing his hands had ever held, he fed her strawberries, told her about his cell mate, asked about her mother, told her she was beautiful. It was the perfect night and things had been going so smoothly since then it was only natural for the fear and anticipation of things going wrong to rear its ugly head. 

Laying in the soft cotton sheets, the beautiful blondes eyes were trained on the handsome man sleeping soundly beside her. He really was beautiful, from the freckle on his chin to the way his dark hair looked against the stark white pillow. Hotdog whined from his place beside the bed, his snout touching his paws as he stared up at Betty with comically large puppy dog eyes. 

"You daddy says you're not allowed on the bed." She whispered, reaching out to run her fingers through the soft white fur. 

The oversized sheepdog whimpered, his head nudging at her hand. 

Betty sighed

"Okay fine. But you have to be gentle and don't wake up the sleeping giant." She giggled.

Taking his chance, Hotdog leapt onto the bed with the grace of a blind horse, plopping down on Betty's chest with an audible 

"Oof" 

She really did try desperately to hold back her laughter but the puppy's huge paws nearly suffocated her as he licked all over, kisses and nuzzles. 

"Isn't that supposed to be my job." 

Betty's eyes snapped to the sleepy voice coming from her right, Jughead was watching the scene unfold with a look of complete adoration, his hand lazily scratching at Hotdogs fur. 

The baker turned her body towards Jughead. 

"Well i just needed some loving from my favorite guy." 

Jughead lifted himself slowly, reaching for Betty, rolling his eyes as the brightest smile lit up his face. 

Betty shook her head, a look of mock sincerity on her face 

"Not you! I was talking about Hotdog." 

Jughead stopped for a moment, hovering over her body before pouncing on her, his fingers tickling her ribs as she squealed.

"Oh really? Hot Dog is your favorite guy? What am I chopped Liver?" He teased, lips dropping to hers as he sighed on contentment. 

Betty smiled into the kiss 

"I kid, I kid." 

The dark haired boy rolled his eyes before dropping onto his back and pulling Betty into his side, fingers tracing circles on her hips 

"Goodmorning Sunshine." He yawned.

"Morning Juggie." She whispered into the quiet of the bedroom, sunshine filtering through the sheer curtains 

It was Saturday and the bakery was closed, she really didn't have anything to do today, she could just just spend the entire day snuggled up next to Jughead, the could order takeout, they could.....

"Oh shoot!" Betty exclaimed, tumbling out of bed, her feet getting ranked in her sheets as she plopped onto the ground. Jughead lifted himself up quickly, his eyes frantic as he ripped the covers off of his body.

"What?! What's the matter?! Are you okay?" He questioned.

Betty hopped to her feet, blonde curls laying wildly on her head 

"It's saturday! I completely forgot! I didn't write it down. Oh god I have nothing to wear. She's going to kill me, my mother is going to bury me in the dirt." 

Jugheads eyes fell to Betty's palms, watching the way her fingernails dug dangerously deep into her palms. He was up in seconds flat pulling her hands into his and massaging the abused skin. 

" no one is going to kill you, not on my watch. Breathe angel, what did you forget?" 

Betty dropped against his chest, sighing heavily as her shoulders slumped.

"My mother is throwing my father a birthday party tonight. It's more of an event. It's huge. I'm already such a failure to my family I can't believe I forgot." She whispered, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. 

Jughead bent down, cupping her cheeks in his hands   
"You Are not a failure. You're successful, beautiful and smart and if anyone says anything differently. Fuck them. You're going to go to that party, you're going to look beautiful like you always do and you're going to show your family what they're missing." 

With a watery smile and a deep breath, Betty placed her lips on his before pulling back and running her hands nervously over his bare chest. 

"You wouldn't want to.. I mean my mom did say.... I know that this is probably too early on in the relationship... if you're not busy." The tiny blonde stammered.

Jughead dropped a kiss to her forehead   
"I'd love to come with you. But.. I don't know if they would be happy about my jeans and leather jacket." Shrugging nervously he ran his hand through his messy waves.

"I CAN FIX THAT." 

Both of the young adults nearly jumped out of their skin at the additional voice, whipping around they stared at the open bedroom door.

"Veronica?! How long have you been waiting downstairs?!" 

The voice spoke again   
"Oh about three minutes, you shouldn't have given me a key to the bakery. By the way that was totally Nicholas Sparks perfection. And as I mentioned I can help. You two can come with me and Reggie. I'm on the hunt for new Suits for the boutique.." 

Betty pulled free of Jugheads grasp and ran to the stair case yelling down. 

"I'm sorry?! Reggie is your date?!" 

There was a feminine giggle before she answered 

"I'm newly seperated and my husband is god knows where. Veronica Lodge does not go dateless. Reggies outside see you downstairs love birds." 

Betty whipped around, eyes lighting up as she caught Jugheads   
"Ready to go shopping?"


	10. Chapter 10

A mall, an actual true blue, bonafide shopping mall complete with a food court and tiny little kiosks filled with custom t shirts. 

“Quite a change from the thrift shop down on the Southside, look that T-shirt doesn’t even have a beer stain.” Reggie raised his eyebrows teasingly, shoving Jughead before walking ahead to wrap an arm around Veronica, listening to her babble on about the proper fit of a tailored suit. 

Reggie wasn’t wrong, the closest Jughead had ever come to shopping was grabbing the thirteen dollar combat boots off the broken shelf at Ralph’s thrift shop. There wasn’t much space for a mall on the Southside and they certainly didn’t provide state of the art shopping facilities in prison. 

“It’s a little...overwhelming?” Betty’s soft voice broke Jugheads quiet contemplation, he could see that she was nervous, afraid he would be uncomfortable, afraid he would run. He wanted her to start trusting him, trusting that he was happy here, he was happy with her. 

“Nah, nothing I can’t handle, guess I’m just worried about the prices, haven’t really gotten a job yet, only have a little money to my name”

Betty placed a tiny scarred palm to the forearm of tall man beside her, her touch instantly calming his jitters

“You don’t have to worry about any of that, Veronica’s family owns this entire mall and she wouldn’t let you pay for a single thing no matter how much you beg, trust me I’ve tried.” 

Jugheads eyes grew comically wide as he reached for bettys hand 

“This whole mall? The whole thing?” 

With a familiar giggle the beautiful blonde nodded quickly 

“The whole thing.” 

“Come on you two! Clothes don’t buy themselves and you my James Dean lookalike are in desperate need of a new wardrobe. Don’t worry we have a t shirt shop.” The dark haired princess rolled her eyes almost as if the thought of a man wearing nothing but T-shirt’s and jeans physically pained her. 

Three hours and plenty of shopping bags later Betty and Jughead had been dropped off home with promises to find the couple as soon as they got to the pArty.

Dumping the bags on the living room couch, Jughead flopped down staring at Betty with such shocked eyes she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Atleast you got some new jeans!” She giggled out 

“ a scarf Betts... she made me get a scarf...”

The exhausted blonde crawled into the mopey boys lap 

“It comes from a place of love, she likes you Jug, plus... I can’t wait to see how good you look in that suit tonight.” Her lips found his neck, fingers gently tracing circles on his chest, slipping beneath the soft cotton of his T-shirt as her legs straddled his seductively “it’s not too late to change your mind. You don’t know my family, they’re... a lot.” She whispered. 

Pulling away to catch his angels eyes Jughead tipped her chin and pressed a slow and sweet kiss to her lips.   
“I’ve been around some pretty awful people I think I can handle your parents. And hey, anyone who took even the slightest part in making you has to have some good in them.” 

Staring at the man underneath her on the couch with complete adoration in her eyes, Betty sighed.  
“We’ll see. I’m gonna go get ready we have to leave in a little over a hour. I call dibs on the shower... unless of course.. you want to help me conserve energy?” Turning her back towards the couch she slipped off her ballet flags and began zipping off her jacket. 

Who was he to argue with that? 

An hour and fifteen minutes later found Jughead waiting nervously by the front door dressed in a perfectly fit ash black suit jacket and pants he wore a bow tie over his pressed button down and his uncontrollable black waves were as tamed as they could be, a single unruly lock falling into his eyes., hotdogs tail was whacking against his shins as he waited beside his dad, a goofy grin on the big dogs face. 

“Listen buddy, she’s my date not yours.” 

“I could always go with both of you.” The voice had Jughead looking up involuntarily, she was a vision. 

Betty’s long blonde curls were shining and loose, blown out into perfect waves that fell against her bare shoulders left out by the violet and lace dress that seemed to fit her body so perfectly it was almost as if it was made for her. Her makeup was subtle, glossy lips and shiny cheekbones, her thick long lashes were darkened by mascara and her hands were brushing away strands of hair that caught in them. 

“I know it may look a little silly but my mom goes all out for these things.” She whispered self consciously 

Jughead shook his head, feet carrying him at their own accord 

“You look.. there are no words to describe how beautiful you look, every single day you amaze me Betty Cooper.” He whispered, reaching for her waist.

Blushing bright scarlet Betty whacked his shoulder   
“Stop it you’ll make me cry and ruin my makeup. You don’t look half bad yourself James Bond.” Her eyes scanned his body as she bit her lip, he knew if he didn’t say something now they would never leave her bedroom. 

“Want me to drive?” He questioned 

There was something dangerous in bettys eyes as she shook her head.

“I was actually thinking, why don’t we take your bike? If I’m gonna cause a stir why not go all out?”

Jughead grinned moving to grab something from the kitchen table, he came back with a dark black helmet, a crown graffitied on the front

“Hope you don’t mind helmet hair angel.”


	11. Chapter 11

Betty giggled, her hands tight around the worn in black helmet as jughead adjusted his suit jacket, an almost child like smile gracing his handsome features. 

“You almost lost your shoe!” He exclaimed, snorting out a laugh and taking the helmet from Betty’s tiny hands. 

“I know! I can’t believe I managed to keep it on, could you imagine? Me just walking into my parents party with one heel on!” The beautiful blonde gripped her sides as she laughed heartily, one hand reaching out to latch on to Jugheads arm as she steadied herself, her perfect waves were windblown and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as that sight in front of him. The valet interrupted Betty’s laughter, sneering down at the motorcycle in distaste. 

“Ill... I suppose I’ll just walk it to a parking spot.” The uppity man grabbed Jugheads keys with two fingers, it seemed he was afraid that the keys would bite him, his nose scrunched. 

“Don’t scratch her.” Betty offered, her tone sugar sweet as she reached for Jugheads hand, intertwining their fingers together, the interaction seemed to bring back her nerves, gone was the carefree girl with the wild eyes he had seen just a few moments ago, she was replaced by a bundle of anxiety and a tense tight smile on her lips. People were staring, not just at Jugheads motorcycle but at the couple itself. Jughead stopped walking, turning them gently 

“Hey. You know I don’t care what these people think of me right? I grew up with people looking down on me, it’s my normal.” Long fingers brushed a stray blonde curl from her eyes, frowning at the anguish that shone through the deep green. 

“It shouldn’t be! I’m tired of the way these people treat anything that’s different, you’re so amazing and smart and good and no ones even willing to give you a chance, they’re so stuck in their tiny Riverdale world that they can’t see someone so Amazing standing right in front of them.” She huffed, her hands shaking, he glanced down to see her fingers digging deep into her palms, nails too close to breaking her skin. 

Jughead reached for her hands, prying them open and kissing her aching palms.  
“Your opinion is the only one that matters to me.  
You’re everything to me Betty Cooper.” He whispered gently dropping his forehead to hers as they stood in the middle of the ballroom hallway. 

She let out an almost silent sigh, her hands splayed out on his chest as she steadied herself. Jughead Jones was dangerous, terrifying, a complete and utter mystery but he was hers, mind body and soul he was hers, and that? That grounded her, gave her strength. She could never repay him for the power he gave her. 

“ I didn’t know you were bringing a date?” 

The shrill voice of Alice Cooper had the pair whipping around 

“Mother, Daddy.” Betty whispered, making her way over “happy birthday Daddy.” 

“Thankyou princess, why don’t you introduce us to your.... friend.” He didn’t sound cruel, hardly even judgmental, just genuinely curious. 

“Mother said I could bring a date, this is my.... my boyfriend Jughead Jones.” She was shaking, her hands smoothing out the wrinkles of her dress as she watched her mother’s eyes linger just a bit too long on her almost perfectly flat stomach, she would tell her to watch her carbs, she was almost certain of it. 

“The boy with the motorcycle and criminal record, oh Betty we’re so proud.” Alice sneered, her eyes narrowing on Jughead. 

“Alice..” hal started. 

Betty stepped forward “mom...” Jughead placed a hand to her forearm, squeezing affectionately as his fingers slid down her arm, cupping her hand.

“It’s wonderful to meet you Mrs. Cooper.”  
Jughead smiled, a lazy smirk, confident and slightly challenging.

“You think I don’t know who’s been sleeping in my daughters bed, she may not answer my phone calls but I have people in this town. I looked you up Jug Head Jones. Nothing but a petty criminal.” 

Jughead squeezed Betty’s fingers reassuringly, he wasn’t going down without a fight. 

“You’re not wrong, I do have a criminal record and I do ride a motorcycle, in fact I rode it here today.” Jughead shrugged, his eyes flicking to bettys, a secret smile on his lips “ I understand why you don’t like me, hell, I would want better for my daughter If i were you too. Betty deserves the world, I can’t give that to her quite yet but you can bet your ass I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can to give her everything she wants. And by She I mean her, not you, her. I don’t mean any disrespect but I care about your daughter more than anyone in this world, and to be frank I don’t give a damn what you think of me.” Jughead wrapped his arm around Betty’s waist “now if you’ll excuse us, they are playing our song.” Jughead led a beaming but shocked Betty into the Main ballroom, instantly heading for the dance floor.

The dark haired boys arms wrapped around Betty’s waist pulling her into his c heat as he buried his face into her neck, whispering against her skin  
“I’m sorry, if I went too far, she’s still your mother and I should have respected that. I just.. the way she looked at ya know? You’re so damn beautiful and she was just... god, I’m so sorry you ever had to deal with being lookst at like that.” He pulled away, his eyes meeting hers, there was no sympathy, no pity, just respect, mutual understanding. Families were hard and they could make or break you, betty and jughead had both made it out strong and fighting. 

Betty pressed her lips to Jugheads  
“I love you.”

He snapped forward, his eyes wide and shocked 

“I know maybe this isn’t the right time, surrounded by all of these people, but you should know... I do.. I do love you... you don’t have to say it back, it’s something I know you have too...” 

His lips were on hers in seconds flat, a smile breaking the kiss 

“I love you. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.” He grinned, there was so much more he wanted to say, he wanted to kiss every part of her, tell her everything he loved about her, but not here, not now.

“Later.” She whispered against his lips reading his mind. 

“Later.” He smiled, spinning her out and back into his arms


End file.
